Great Dames!June 27, 2000 (The WVU-Vendéens at the castle of Chenonceau, June 27, 2000)

As
we leave Tours this morning we head up the Loire Valley toward Chambord.
Our route takes us through a valley that has over 600 castles. Above
left is the castle of Amboise, one of the earliest French Renaissance
masterpieces. As the lifestyle of the medieval warrior began to lose
its luster, the great ladies of the Renaissance began to have a major
influence on the arts in France. Amboise was built by Charles VIII
largely for his wife Anne de Bretagne. This marriage would bring the
independent province of Brittany into union with the French crown, thus
creating peace and prosperity at home and allowing the French monarchs to
turn their attentions to the riches of Italy to the south. Amboise
is also the castle where Leonardo da Vinci spent his last days, having
come here to work with the kings of France as they reconceived the art and
architecture of the realm. Amboise is also infamous in French
history as the site of the massacre of a large group of Protestants
suspected of plotting against the young king François II in 1560.
François's father, the dashing Henri II, had just died. His wife,
Mary Stewart and his mother Catherine de Médicis would be instrumental in
convincing him that the Protestants were a threat to the health of the
kingdom. In order to make the chastisement exemplary, the bodies of
the Huguenots were hung from the walls of the castle, their heads hoisted
on polls all around. One legend says that Mary Stewart, Catherine de
Médicis, and François II came here to celebrate the victory with a grand
dinner held among the rotting cadavers. François II would reign
less than a year, however. His queen Mary Stewart would return to
her native Scotland, where as Mary Queen of Scotts (see the movie with Katherine
Hepburn), she would lead the Catholic forces of Great Britain
against a young Protestant named Elizabeth. In the end, Mary's own
head would serve as an example to any who would dare defy the Virgin Queen.

The castle of Chaumont is also on our route this
morning. We will see later today that Chenonceau was the gift of
Henri II to his mistress and the greatest beauty of the French
Renaissance, Diane de Poitiers. When Henri was killed in a tragic
jousting accident, he left the throne to his hapless son François
II. Real power, however, fell to his widow Catherine de Médicis.
Catherine would immediately confiscate the marvelous Chenonceau and give
Chaumont to her husband's bereaved lover. Diane would in fact refuse
to live here, and the "Eternally Beautiful" lady of Chenonceau
would finish her days in the nearby castle of Anet.

It is a crisp and breezy morning as we arrive at the
castle of Chambord, one of the marvels of the reign of François I.

While Leonardo da Vinci was a friend of François I, the
Italian master died before the actual construction of the castle
began. The incredible stairway behind us here is often attributed to
da Vinci himself, but the documents proving the link have not been
found. Notes and drawings from da Vinci's own hand striking in their
resemblance to many elements of this castle. Our guide Hélène says
that some suspect the actual plans were destroyed in hopes of guarding the
secrets of this prestigious monument from other monarchs of the time.

The halls of Chambord are not the least of its
marvels. Many of the vaults are engraved with the giant
"F" and the salamander that are François I emblems.

The walks around the upper terraces of the castle provide
a view of the incredibly rich roofline as well as perspectives on the
forests that surround Chambord. Those forests were among the prime
attractions for François I in choosing the site of this castle. He
was an avid huntsman and came to these woods often as a young man with his
elder cousin Louis XII. Louis XII and Queen Anne de Bretagne would
not have a male child, but by marrying their daughter Claude de France to
the young prince François they assured a smooth transition of the crown
to France's favorite Renaissance monarch and one of this nations greatest
builders.

Today is the last regular field luncheon of WVU-V
2000. Our driver yesterday and today is Patrick, lower
left. He is happy to share his knowledge of this fine fare
with this year's Vendéens.

The Hostel du Roy in the village near Chenonceau has
become a standard relay spot for WVU-V.

After lunch we cross the village onto the grounds of the
castle of Chenonceau, one of the jewels of the French Renaissance.
Known at the Castle of the Six Ladies, the charms of the feminine
influence are everywhere present. As we mentioned earlier, one of
the great ladies of this castle was Diane de Poitiers herself.

Diane, the "Ever Beautiful" was 20 years older
than Henri II who gave the castle to her when he rose to the throne upon
his father François I's death in 1547. The castle was perfect for
the great feasts and balls hosted by Diane and her court. Built over
the river Cher, the castle seems to float in the air above the gently
rolling waters.

The glory days of Diane's reign here ended in 1560 when
the lance of Henir II's friend and fellow gamesman Montgomery accidentally
broke and flew into the king's eye. The Queen Catherine de Médicis
lost no time in taking the castle for herself. Catherine's three
sons, François II, Charles IX, and Henri III, would reign over France's
most troubled years, the Wars of Religion. The third son, Henri III,
would do all in his power to bring peace to the kingdom, but he too would
die tragically, assassinated by the fanatic Jacques Clément. Royal
marriages were generally matters of political arrangement, but that of
Henri III and his wife Louise de Lorraine was based on true and eternal
love. When Henri III was assassinated, his "inconsolable"
wife Louise would leave the world forever and live in the Chambre Noire
(the Black Chamber) which she designed as a sign of her endless
mourning for her beloved husband.

After
Louise de Lorraine, Chenonceau would enter a long period of decline.
In the 18th century the property would come into the hands of the Dupin
family. Madame Dupin would bring the castle back to life hosting
celebrities like Jean-Jacques Rousseau who was governor to her son and who
exerted a great influence on her grand-daughter Aurore Dupin, better known
to most as the author and feminist George Sand.

In the 19th century it was Madame Pelouze who undertook the project
of restoring the castle and its grounds to their original Renaissance
magnificence. Here a few other great ladies visit the tomb of Madame
Pelouze which is hidden in the forest across the river from the main
gardens of Chenonceau. A brisk walk back through the castle and
across its grounds will have us back in the Vendée-Mobile and on the road
"home" to Les Sables d'Olonne.